From: Calgary Herald
By Gary Grant
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Contraband tobacco is cigarettes and other tobacco products sold without the proper taxes paid to government, be it provincial or federal. They are often sold in resealable plastic bags and are extremely cheap, with a “baggie” of 200 cigarettes often costing less than the price of a movie ticket, about $90 less than legal product.
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Contraband tobacco isn’t just Eastern Canada’s problem anymore. Ontario and Quebec let a nascent contraband tobacco problem develop and, because of a lack of early action, entrench. Now, illegal cigarettes make up a significant portion of all cigarettes smoked in Eastern Canada, and the trade is expanding outwards.
